Five Things That Didn’t Happen... by kickair8p (PG)

[sarah531.livejournal.com]

Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: kickair8p
Author Website: None
Why this must be read: This story (Five Things That Didn’t Happen To, Because Of, In Spite Of, Or In The Proximity Of Rose Tyler, to give it it's full title) consists of five unrelated AU ficlets: each of them hugely enjoyable. My favourites were ficlets one and two, but there's something here for virtually everyone in the fandom. Features a large range of characters, too, from Rose to Sarah Jane to Adric to Mickey's gran...


Rita-Anne Smith looked up and saw the moon.

Bigger than she remembered, clearer, nested among glowing shreds of cloud. The stars around it sparkled like jewels, and not just diamonds -- emeralds and rubies and sapphires, amethysts and citrines. Had she ever seen the sky like this?

For a while she didn't really notice anything else, lost in the wonder of her regained sight. Then she realized she was cold, that she was standing outside the gates of the Battersea Power Station, that the station was burning, and she was hearing screams. She turned and ran.

It was a dream, of course. She could see again, there was no pain in her joints, and she was cold -- she'd probably kicked off her covers. She'd enjoy it while it lasted -- it was a clear night, London looked lovely under the streetlights, she was running like she hadn't since she was a little girl, clanking with every step.....clanking? Without breaking stride she looked down -- she was wearing metal boots. She stopped, brought her hands up, and found them in gauntlets -- she was wearing armor, how strange.

Where was she, and where was she going? Home? With that thought a computer graphic sprang up in front of her, showing where she was and the route home. So she was wearing a space suit of some kind? What had she eaten last night to give her dreams like this?!?

When she got there she found her front door open. Had someone broken in? What if they were still in the house? But she was wearing armor, so she was undoubtedly a match for any burglar.

She went in, and felt something catch at her feet. Not a burglar, just the front stairs carpet, which she'd just shredded. She bent down -- easily, so easily! -- and gathered it up. At least now Ricky wouldn't have to mend it. It looked shabbier than the last time she saw it. She went out and stuffed it in the wheelie bin, and then headed for the kitchen.

Everything looked older, more worn. She plugged the kettle in, went into the living room, and sat down on the couch, which creaked alarmingly. Turning on the telly was a bit of a nuisance with the gauntlets, but she managed. There was some kind of news broadcast on, showing Battersea Power Station half on fire. There were more people in armor scattered unmoving on the ground, and some with blankets over their shoulders grouped round an ambulance. The words scrolling across the bottom of the screen said "not robots," and "Cybermen," and "encased brains," and now one of them was being interviewed, his panicky hand-waving at odds with the electronic monotone of his voice.....

"Oh my God," Rita-Anne said. In the same electronic voice.


Five Things That Didn’t Happen To, Because Of, In Spite Of, Or In The Proximity Of Rose Tyler